Thread-winding machine



Aug. 7, 1951 E. COLOMBU ETAL THREAD WINDING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 1, 1950 INVENTORs Hf/gene Calambu 8 ermdmr liar/en ORNEY Aug. 7 1951 E. COLOMBU ETAL 2,563,642

THREAD WINDING MACHINE Filed April 1, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

' 3 ermcum liar/en Patented Aug. 7, 1951 THREAD-WINDING MACHINE Eugene Colombu,

Karlen,

Paris, France, and Herman Emmenbrucke, near Lucerne, Switzerland, assignors to Comptoir des Textiles Artificiels,

a corporation of France Application April 1, 1950, Serial No. 153,358

In- France April 5, 1949 3 Claims. (01. 242-355) This invention relates to winding machines and more particularly to high-speed machines for winding rayon and other artificial filaments formed by a continuous spinning process, for example, a process in which a group of parallel threads are produced by spinnerets and are subjected, as a band of threads, to the steps of coagulation, drawing, washing, and so on, and finally drying, whereafter the threads are individually wound.

French Patent No. 935,388 is mainly concerned with changing the bobbins in the winding machine and proposes the alternate use of two bobbins, one of which is inoperative while the thread is wound on the other and vice versa. During bobbin-changing the thread guide is moved from one bobbin to the other by movement of a reciprocating bar under the action of a cam and a loop is formed between the two bobbins, this loop being cut by suitable means.

According to a feature of the above referred to French patent each thread passes on its way to the winding thread guide over a device which maintains the tension of the thread independent of the movement of the thread guide and compensates for variations in the length of thread due to the reciprocating movement of the thread guide.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a winding machine, more particularly for winding rayon and other artificial filament, particularly at high speeds, wherein, in contradistinction to the machines of the above patent which have one half of the total number of bobbins inoperative during winding, the thread is wound on all but one of the bobbins of the machine, only one bobbin being used to wind waste during the operations of transferring the thread from a full to an empty bobbin. Moreover, during changing of a bobbin, the broken thread is drawn along by two auxiliary rollers and the end pneumatically sucked up by a nozzle connected to a suction duct during the brief interval needed to take up the thread again in order to wind it on to an empty bobbin.

The present invention also concerns a mechanism for making the tension of the thread independent of the variations of the movements of the thread guide by the intermittent lifting, in synchronism with the reciprocating movement of the bar of the guides, of a bank of guides placed ahead of the winding guides and parallel to the bar. The lifting referred to is effected by suitable face cams on the bar of the reciprocating uides.

The invention will be more readily understood with reference to the embodiment illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings. Although the invention relates more especially to the winding of rayon and aifords special advantages in the manufacture, by a continuous spinning process, of extremely uniform hightenacity rayon in accordance with French pat: ent application No. 544,408 of the 10th of November, 1947, and British patent application No. 28182/48 of November 2, 1948, it also is applicable to the winding of other artificial yarns, such as artificial hair or ribbons, and so on, under favorable conditions. The invention is not limited to viscose yarns, but also permits accurate winding of other artificial yarns, such as acetate rayon, or nylon, at high speeds. It is also possible by means of the invention to obtain wound packages of considerable weight, for example of 5 kg. or more of rayon, which unwind without diiiiculty either by overhead unwinding, or by un-rolling and re-winding on throwing-spools or cops on twisting machines, for example, of the ring-andtraveller type.

The nature and characteristics of the invention will be better understood by referring to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which a specific embodiment thereof has been set forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a double-sided winding machine according to the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, the band N of viscose rayon dried in the drier forming part of the invention described in British patent application No. 2169/49 of January 26, 1949 leaves the last roller l of the drier, and is divided into individual filaments by two thread supporters 2 and 2' having a plurality of guides 3 and 3'. These guides are, for example, small eyelets of fused alumina and are highly polished. Each filament of the band is a thread 4 to be wound on. a bobbin. I

It is obvious that the whole support 2 comprises a number of successive supports having a decreasing number of guides 3 and 3' on each side of the winding machine as they lie further from the input side.

The threads 4 then pass from the supports into other guides 5 and 5 similar to the guides 3, but

assembled on two bars B and 6', one on each side of the frame F. After leaving the guides and 5','.

the threads 4 pass to the guides I and I, which are carried on two reciprocating bars 8 and 8', and are thereafter wound on the bobbins 9 and 9'. The winding operation is more fully described below with reference to Fig. 2. The bars 8, and 8' are supported in guide blocks 8A and 8A. As has (not shown).

' is to be changed, is retracted by means of the been stated, on each side of the winding machine 2 all the bobbins are used for winding except one waste bobbin, which will later be referred to. Each winding bobbin 9 or 9' is freely mounted on a spindle In or Ill in a cradle II or II arranged to rock about a pin l 2, [2", the cradle being operated by means of a handle l3 or I3.

The bobbins may be simple cylindrical supports or flanged spools. Owing to the large mass of thread to be wound, these bobbins must be very solidly designed, and if necessary are suitably reinforced.

Each bobbin 9 or 9 is driven during winding position by a roller 14 or M fixed to its shaft I5 or l5. In order to ensure contact between the bobbins 9 and 9' and the corresponding rollers l4 and [4 thereof, in the winding position, each cradle H or II carries a hook IE or Hi to which is attached a cable I! or II which passes over a pulley l8 or l8 and is tensioned by a weight l9 or l9.

In order to change the bobbin 9, for example, the handle I3 is pulled back manually and the bobbin then occupies the position 20 shown in dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 2. In this position, driving engagement ceases between the bobbin 9 and the roller l4 and the bobbin slows down. A

brake to stop the bobbin rapidly when so disengaged and a member for locking the cradle in the retracted position may be provided.

Between the guides 5 and the guides I, the threads 4 pass between eccentrically mounted rollers 2| and 2| and idler rollers R and R respectively. The small rollers 2| and 2| carry a hand lever 21A and 2IA' respectively by which they can be thrown oil center after the thread between the thread guides 5 and I has been cut and before changing the bobbins 9. For example, when the roller 2! is turned by lever 2 IA it bears against the roller R, which is constantly driven at the required speed so that the end of a broken thread is drawn along and passed to the waste by the pneumatic arrangement hereinafter described.

-In order to compensate for the variations in the length of the thread 4 between the guides 5 and 5' and the guides l and 1' which occurs with reciprocation of the guides, the bar 8 of the guides l is provided at the top with face cams 22. Posts 24 supporting the bar 6 rest on the bar 8 through the intermediary of rollers 23. The cams 22 are so designed that the maximum lift of the bar 6 occurs at the central position of each guide I with respect to the bobbin 9, while zero lift ofthe cam takes place at the ends of the stroke. The normal variations in length between the output roller I from the drier and the guides I due to reciprocation of the guides is compensated for by the upward and downward movement of the bar 5. The cams 22 are so designed that the winding tensions scarcely vary as the bar 8 is reciprocated.

The winding machine, according to this invention, incorporates a pneumatic device for drawn in the ends of the broken thread, thereby facilitating the doffing of the bobbins. Two suction ducts 25 and 25' extend lengthwise of the machine and are connected to a suction chamber handle I3 from its holder I l the bobbin ceases to take up the thread, the small take-up device ZIR. or 21R described above is operated, and after cutting, the end of the broken thread is instantaneously passed to the waste by the pneumatic .device described since the end of the thread lies across an opening 21a in branch 21 or 21'. As the bobbins wind several kilograms of thread or more in 24 hours, the losses in the nozzles are negligible.

For the initial starting of the winding operation, use is made of two waste bobbins, one of which is shown at 28 in Fig. 1. The waste thread 29 is passed into the guide 30, corresponding to guide 5, and then into the guide 3|, corresponding to guide 1, and is wound on to the bobbin 28 until the complete winding operation has commenced. Bobbin 28 is also used for re-starting the winding operation following breakage in the drier or on the input side, of the drier. To this end the thread is momentarily matched with a neighboring unbroken thread in order to feed it through the drier to the winding machine, after which the loose end is re-isolated and winding recommenced as described.

The winding machine is driven by a suitable mechanism within the gear case 35.

A particular embodiment has been shown for purposes of illustration only and various changes and modifications may be made therein as will be apparent to a person skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. A thread-winding machine comprising a plurality of axially aligned bobbin supports carrying bobbins for winding, a bar extendin along said machine parallel to said bobbin supports, a thread guide on said bar disposed centrally of each of said bobbins, spaced guides guiding a plurality of threads from a source in parallel paths along said machine and individuallyto said first guides, a second bar extending along said machine having guides guiding the respective threads to said bobbins, means reciprocating said second bar to lay the thread in layers on said bobbins, a cam surface carried by and reciprocating with said second bar, posts carried by said first bar slidably mounted for movement toward or away from said bobbins and followers on said posts shiftable by said cam surface, said cam surface being adapted to shift said first guides so as to maintain a substantially constant thread length from said source to said bobbins.

2. A thread-winding machine, as set forth in claim 1, in which continuously driven rollers engage and drive said bobbins, said bobbins being mounted to recede from said rollers as the thick ness of the windings thereon increases.

3. A thread-winding machine comprising a bobbin support carrying a bobbin for winding, spaced thread guides disposed to guide the thread to said bobbin, a drive roller engaging said bobbin for drivin the same, a second driven roller disposed in the path of the thread between said guides, a suction duct having a suction opening adjacent the thread and beyond said second driven roller inthe path of travel of the thread,

' and an idler roller normally out of contact with driven roller for feeding the loose end of a broken thread into said suction duct during bobbin UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Donnelly May 18, 1880 Bruner Feb. 7, 1905 Newton Oct. 24, 1939 Jackson Dec. 10, 1946 Thoma Aug. 12, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Nov. 3, 1910 

